Ghost ships: the scare that never was
from
The Independent
Update to the item from several days ago regarding the US Navy ships that were sailed over to England to be decomissioned and taken apart for scrap.
bq. Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace may have exaggerated dangers of pollution from US vessels
bq. Peter Mandelson, the local MP, accused the groups of "colossal misinformation" after personally inspecting the two ships that docked in the north-eastern port last week. And senior government sources pointed out that the ships - continually described as "toxic timebombs" by environmentalists - are in fact
"no more toxic than the average car ferry".
(emphasis mine)
The "toxic cocktail" that the environmentalists were worried about were three items.
Asbestos which is toxic if airborne and inhaled but perfectly safe sitting where it is - there are excellent proceedures in place for removal.
PCB's - these do cause cancer but they are present only in solid form on the ship - you would have to gnaw on an electrical cable to be affected. (PCB's have excellent electrical properties which made them ideal for insulation, cooling oils, etc... until the health hazards became apparent) and finally,
Oil - there are a few tons of oil on each ship that could leak out and pollute the surrounding harbor.
Gimme a break!
Posted by DaveH at November 18, 2003 11:15 AM